Linux Format Blog

What I wish they had found through the Hubble telescope instead of dark matter:
- Galaxies formed from quadrillions of microscopic liquorice allsorts
- Jeremy Paxman in a gaseous form
- Atlantis
- Evidence for a divine being
- My old passport with the border stamps from Africa in it

Just to stop this whole blog becoming a Hudzilla-Wii love-in, I thought I'd just write briefly about my Christmas present this year. It's not something I'd normally do, but then I don't usually get really interesting presents.

I thought I'd be getting a Wii. My wife spent ages combing shops, the net, etc. looking for this special gift and then, a few days before crimbo, said she couldn't get it and it would be delivered on January 12th. Sounded like a Wii to mii. Fortune smiled on us and the thing was delivered in a Wii sized box on the 22nd. Hooray.

I mentioned in my last blog entry that I was taking my Wii to the children's Christmas party at my church, and, happily, nothing got broken. The kids figured out the wrist straps straight away, and played tennis very enthusiastically without dropping any Wiimotes even once. I just don't understand how grown adults manage to let go, throw so hard the wrist strap snaps, then smash their controller into their TV sets, when 11-year-old kids can play just fine.

Some time ago I took on Paul's PHP quiz. I can't remember what I scored, but it was quite good for someone who no speako lingo geeko. OK, I'm being modest: according to the test, I'm good enough at PHP to be competent sysadmin and sit rocking all day, watching servers.
Mike, on the other hand, isn't very good at PHP. That's Mike Saunders, New Media Editor. Yes, Mike, you. Mike is at this moment swotting up on PHP with Paul looking over his shoulder, trying to win back the pride he lost months ago. Give up, Mike. There's no substitute for blind luck. You're quite good at pool though.

My blog entries are usually complaints about a punctuationally-challenged society or worried posts about climate change, so I am happy to begin Monday with a shiny, happy one. As I hinted in a previous entry, I have been trying to drag my PC into 2006 in order to run better software on it, faster. (It has a Celeron 333 chip and about as much RAM as Christmas pudding I will be eating next week (currants: Yuk Points = 7; raisins: YP = 8; dried peel: YP = off the scale)).

We've all had our Wiis a full seven days now, and have been playing them extensively. I took last Friday (launch day) off work, along with Monday and Tuesday this week, and spent pretty much the entire time playing the games I bought for it. Here are my opinions...

- Wii Sports is very easy, but some non-gamers still seem to struggle when moving the controller around and pressing buttons. Unless you have other people you who have a Wii, it's likely to be short-lived. That said, it's free with the console, so it's hard to complain!

What with all of us going gaming mad over here at Linux Format Bowers, I've been thinking about game characteristics, and just where Linux fits in to the gamer's psyche. While Paul, Mike and I are all happy to help keep Nintendo's executives from the shame of failure, we're all sadly aware of just how neglected the Linux gaming market has become. I think this comes down to the personality behind the operating system. For example, if Microsoft Windows was a game, it would be a glossy first-person shooter.

Alpine ski resorts are suffering from lack of snow this winter. Some resorts have already been having to bring in snow or create snow overnight. It may take a generation, but I have a solution. In 50-60 years, apparently, the Arctic may have no sea ice at all. Let out-of-commission ice breakers take skiers to northern Greenland, where they can ski to their hearts' content in a less-cold-than-it-used-to-be climate without fear of being eaten by polar bears, who will all be dead. Hurrah!